Three teen girls injured, one dragged 450 feet by vehicle in Davenport hit-and-run crash, deputies say

LOUGHMAN, Fla. - A teen driver was arrested within hours of crashing into three 16-year-old girls, and dragging another about 450 feet, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Polk County deputies arrested the hit-and-run suspect, who is also 16 years old, during the overnight hours. They said they initially responded to the Cypress Pointe neighborhood off of Old Lake Wilson around 9:37 p.m. after receiving a report of a loud house party. 

When they arrived, the teenagers at the party quickly dispersed, deputies said. 
Officials said the four victims, all 16 years old, were standing at the end of a driveway in the 1100 block of Cypress Pointe Boulevard. Around this time, deputies said the driver, who was driving a black 2020 Kia Stinger, struck them with the vehicle. 

Three of the four teens had non-life threatening injuries. The fourth victim was dragged under the Kia as the suspect continued driving, investigators said. 
Then, the Kia struck a parked Jeep Cherokee and traveled across driveways and lawns before the victim was finally dislodged from the vehicle. Officials said she was dragged about 450 feet. 

She was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando in critical condition. According to the sheriff's office, she has internal injuries, multiple fractures and losses of skin and muscle.

The teen suspect continued driving, but crashed his car about eight miles away on Deen Still Road, near the intersection of Old Deen Still Road. Then, deputies, said he fled on foot, but found him in the parking lot of the Amazon Distribution Center on Deen Still Road.

Deputies said the 16-year-old driver showed signs of impairment and had a "strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath." They said he provided a breath test revealing a blood alcohol content of 0.121. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08.

"Detectives are still working to determine who was responsible for renting the vacation home, and who invited all of the teens -  further charges are possible related to that portion of the investigation," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "This is one of those events that parents always fear...a mix of unsupervised teens, a house party, alcohol, and a horrific result." 

The young driver faces several charges including DUI, DUI with property damage, DUI with serious bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crash.

This is the second hit-and-run crash that the agency is trying to solve. In a separate case, the sheriff's office is investigating a hit-and-run that occurred in Lakeland on Tuesday night. 

The female victim was hit and dragged by an SUV, and later passed away. 

Detectives released surveillance video hoping someone can identify the SUV involved in the hit-and-run.